Chretien Macutay
Filipino Cinema Video Reaction Paper
January 29, 2009

According to the video, the film industry in the Philippines has undergone a variety of changes throughout its history. The changes in Filipino society and culture within the last century were reflected through film, as a way of expression for directors in the Philippines, and also as a way of connecting and conveying a message to the general public. From bomba to the occupation by the Japanese, films in the Philippines were not just entertainment, but rather a record of changes within the nation over the last century.

Although the video explained the growing Filipino film industry and the relationship it had towards its respective society, I personally thought the video was unorganized. The video would sometimes randomly cut to clips that were not related to the narration. It was not a big deal, but in terms of critiquing the videos composition, I felt it could have been stronger had they handled the transitions better. Regardless, this did not detract too much from the content of the video, as one could understand how the Filipino film industry was influenced and became influenced by the culture.

Emphasized also in the course reader, the video explained that early Filipino feature films often were about issues closely related to lives of Filipinos. While Hollywood had much larger budgets and the ability to produce films at a higher standard, the local, limited-budget films in the Philippines were still popular among the Filipino nation. In my opinion, the “fantasy” films of Hollywood don’t have the impact of films that hit close to a specific culture. For example, I, among others, would much rather watch a film about the story of an architect’s first love, rather than a film of the love story of a botanist. Because I am an architecture student, the former film would be closer to my culture. I could care less about botany. The language in the former film would also be easier for me to comprehend, because I am somewhat familiar with the terminology architects use. When Filipino films began to utilize sound, the use of Tagalog helped to propel the local films ahead of Hollywood films, especially for those people who had not learned English.

The differences between Filipino film and Hollywood went further with the reflection of Filipino religion and politics in movies. The reader mentions the battle between good and evil is represented in religious films as the battle between the Christians and the Moros, good and evil respectively. But when the Japanese invasion came about in World War II, the Filipino film industry was forced to cease production. Instead, live theater took the place of entertainment and these “stage shows” were a place for actors and actresses to continue working through the occupation. At the end of the occupation, the battered and bruised nation of the Philippines had many stories to tell. When film became available again, writers and directors unveiled the stories of the war and propaganda. I think it was an intelligent decision to use film as a way of raising questions about the war and what it did. Essentially, by doing this, the Filipino history was unknowingly documented. Before this class, I knew nothing about the Japanese occupation and its effects on the Filipino people. Because of these films based on the war, more knowledge about what really happened during the war is available for education.

It wasn’t stated to clearly in the video, but in class we had a discussion about how the government of Ferdinand Marcos tried to influence and encourage the film industry in support of the fascist regime. Under Martial Law, the films made were being checked for quality and subject matter in order to control the society views. Some filmmakers took a defiant stance against these laws and began to get creative. The reader mentions that defiance to the government was not openly stated, but the struggles of the Filipino people were shown in the images of incarceration, suppression, resistance, and struggle. Personally, I find this courageous act to be powerful. I may or may not agree with the filmmakers’ personal view, but it is a very brave thing to go against the law in your work. I also have great respect for those filmmakers because it takes an extreme amount of creativity for their defiant ideals to go unnoticed under the radar of such strict conditions and laws.

Present-day Filipino film has changed. Mainstream films are masking the work of noteworthy filmmakers, and the future of the Filipino film industry is not certain. But regardless of the future, the past has been documented. The Filipino films are an elaborate record of the events that shaped, influenced, and told the stories of the Philippines and its people. And even if present-day films cannot utilize the creativity and power of film as they did in the past, they will continue to reflect the views of a changing Filipino society.